Grants | 24 February 2021

CFA: Apply to be a THI Public Fellow

THI invites applications for our Public Fellows program. Public Fellows contribute to research, programming, communications, and fundraising at companies, non-profit organizations, or cultural institutions and gain valuable experience applying their skills and expertise outside of academia.

Application deadline: April 5, 2021

* Note that applicants are required to attend a Public Fellows Info Session on March 5, 2021, or meet with THI staff by March 19, 2021.

We offer two graduate fellowship opportunities.

2021 Summer Public Fellows work for up to 250 hours with a partner organization during the summer quarter. THI provides funding and helps create partnerships where possible.
2021-2022 Year-Long Public Fellows work for 3-quarters with a non-profit organization, company, or cultural institution. The year-long fellowship enables students to have a greater impact on partner organizations and further develop their own interests and skills.

UC Santa Cruz students can either propose a project with a new organization or work with an existing THI partner. Learn more about previous fellows on our Public Fellowship page.

THI PUBLIC FELLOWS SUMMER 2021

Application Deadline: April 5, 2021

Amount: Up to $5,000

Number of Fellowships: TBD (based on the availability of funds)

These fellowships provide an opportunity for Humanities doctoral students to contribute to research, programming, communications, and fundraising at non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, or companies. During Summer 2021, public fellows will apply and expand their skills in a non-academic setting while engaged in graduate study. Students are welcome to find their own partner organization or pursue opportunities with an established THI partner organization.

Applicants are required to attend a Public Fellows Info Session (on March 5, 2021 or meet with THI Staff by March 19, 2021.

Please consider the following questions when writing your application and communicating with your proposed mentor:

Does the organization endorse the project you will be working on?
What are the proposed working hours?
How will your project and collaboration with the partner organization fit into your career trajectory or your goals for exploring career options?
How does your project fit with the organization’s goals?
Who will serve as your mentor at the partner organization and what will that mentorship look like?

Fellows will receive:

A fellowship stipend of up to $5,000 (for up to 250 hours of work)
Mentoring from The Humanities Institute and from the partner organization

Eligibility: The student must be:

Enrolled in a doctoral program in one of the Humanities departments
Be within normative time and in good academic standing
Enrolled in at least five credits of graduate-level coursework. Students are ineligible to apply while on leave.
Enrolled in the program at least through Fall 2021.

Application consists of:

Cover Letter (1-2 pages) outlining your interests in a specific position and your qualifications (your research focus can but need not align with the project)
Resume (1-2 pages)
Work agreement – no more than one page – signed by the applicant and a dedicated mentor at the partner organization. The work agreement should address the work that has been agreed on, the timeline for the project, and its deliverables.
A signed form from the department Graduate Director stating that you will be within normative time and in good academic standing during the 2021-2022 Academic Year (Download Form here).

APPLY NOW

*PLEASE NOTE: You must be logged into your ucsc.edu Google account to use this application form.

Questions? Please contact Laura Martin, Research Program Manager at lemartin@ucsc.edu.

THI PUBLIC FELLOWS 2021-22 (3 Quarter Opportunity)

Application Deadline: April 5, 2021

Stipend Amount: $8,000/quarter (tuition and fees for in-state students fully covered)

Number of Fellowships: TBD (based on the availability of funds)

These fellowships provide an opportunity for Humanities doctoral students to contribute to research, programming, communications, and fundraising at companies, non-profit organizations, or cultural institutions. This extended fellowship allows students to apply and expand their skills in a non-academic setting through projects that benefit their partner organizations.

Year-long fellows will join and contribute to a cohort of Public Fellows. Throughout the year, the cohort will meet regularly with THI staff to address challenges and reflect on their ongoing projects.

Partner organizations should be located in Santa Cruz County. Exceptions can be made for partners in the greater Bay Area if the organization is open to an ongoing relationship with THI. Consider pursuing opportunities with partner organizations listed on our Public Fellowship page.

Before applying, students are required to attend a Public Fellows Info Session on March 5, 2021 or meet with THI Staff by March 19, 2021.

Applications will be evaluated based on a range of criteria. Please consider the following questions while writing your application and communicating with your proposed mentor:

Does the organization endorse the project you will be working on?
What are the proposed working hours?
How will your project and collaboration with the partner organization fit into your career trajectory or your goals for exploring career options?
How does your project fit with the organization’s goals?
Who will serve as your mentor at the partner organization and what will that mentorship look like?